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Plaza Palooza kicks off second season

The Sunday events run through the beginning of December.

By LAUREN BOYER Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
10/14/2012 10:14:30 PM EDT

Maxwell Morris, 6, of Manchester Township, climbs the rock wall at the first Plaza Palooza run by Bring On Play at Sovereign Bank Stadium in York Sunday. The Sunday events run through the end of December. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - PAUL KUEHNEL)

Ron Johnson, the health and fitness coordinator for the YWCA York and former Philadelphia Eagle, runs a football workshop Sunday during Bring On Play's Plaza Palooza at Sovereign Bank Stadium in York. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - PAUL KUEHNEL)

York, PA -

Theresa Linden watched her daughter Mya sit completely still among the bounce houses, climbing walls and large blue blocks -- part of Bring On Play's imagination playground.

The 3-year-old didn't flinch as a volunteer put the finishing brushstrokes on the face painted spider, stamped on her right cheek.

When Linden, 33, wasn't much older than her daughter, activities for children in York city were scarce, she said.

"The parks weren't as nice back then -- full of trash and broken glass," she recalled, sitting on a bench in the area outside York's Sovereign Bank Stadium for the kickoff of Plaza Palooza's second season.

The family-friendly program, held from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays from Oct. 14 to Dec. 2, features interactive activities, games, crafts, music, inflatable play equipment, ice skating and other fun for families with children age 12 and under.

The $4 per person admission tickets benefit Bring on Play, a group of "really passionate volunteers who believe in quality playgrounds and promote healthy lifestyles and playful activities," said event organizer Adrienne Brenner.

The group has renovated four parks since its inception in 2008.

This year, Brenner said, money from Plaza Palooza will go toward a $600,000 playground build at Penn Park, which will include playgrounds for children ages 2 through 6, another section for children ages 7 through 12, and a splash pad.

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Each weekend features a different theme and sponsor.

Sunday's "Let's Get Movin'" theme, sponsored by the YWCA York, featured cheerleading demonstrations, baseball clinics from York Revolution pitcher Corey Thurman and football clinics from former Philadelphia Eagle Ron Johnson.

Wendy Eaton lives near Lincoln Park, the first park to be renovated by Bring on Play.

The existing equipment was replaced. Walking trails and a concert series was added to the park's band pavilion.

On Sunday, she brought her two daughters -- Jayonna Townsend, 7, and Amya Townsend, 5 -- to Plaza Palooza.

The girls took turns ascending the climbing wall, weighing in on their favorite parts of the event.